With the baseball season in full swing (pun intended!), it’s time to salute America’s pastime. And in recognition of April being National Humor Month, I’m sharing some of my favorite classic stories from the big leagues, along with the important business lessons from these real-life events.

How time flies.

A rookie sat next to his manager and watched New York Yankee great Roger Maris gun down a runner trying to go from first to third.

“Kid, you won't see a throw like that again in a million years.”

Three innings later, Maris duplicated the feat.

The rookie turned to the manager and said, “Time sure flies up here in the majors.”

Sometimes managers know best.

Before a game, St. Louis Cardinals manager Frankie Frisch instructed his pitching staff to avoid throwing Brooklyn's Tony Cuccinello a fastball.

Dizzy Dean objected. “He can't hit my fastball.”

He begged Frisch to let him throw Cuccinello a fastball. Frisch refused. Finally, with the game in hand, he relented. Dean threw Cuccinello a fastball, and Cuccinello hit it out of the park.

Dean turned to Frisch: “By gosh, Frankie. You were right for once.”

The truth always hurts.

Johnny Blanchard sat in the Yankees' clubhouse crying after learning he had been traded to Kansas City. Concerned for his teammate, Mickey Mantle sat down and tried to console Blanchard.

“Don't take it so hard, John. Just think, in Kansas City you're going to get a chance to play.”

“Hell, I can't play, Mick. That's why I'm crying.”

Know thy competitor.

In an article in The Wall Street Journal, former Major League Baseball Commissioner Fay Vincent said the smartest player he ever knew was Warren Spahn. The left-handed pitcher won a record 363 games in his career. Vincent asked Spahn who taught him how to pitch. He replied, “Hitters.” Spahn often sat in the stands to watch the opposition take batting practice. He knew who was having trouble hitting and used that knowledge.

Show some respect for authority.

Another story Vincent shared was about Frank Robinson, whom Vincent called as tough a player as he ever knew. Vincent asked him about his mother during a Hall of Fame interview, and Robinson unexpectedly teared up. Robinson explained, “One time, early in my career, I got thrown out of a game for sassing an umpire, and she called me that night to give me hell. She told me she did not raise me to fight with umpires, and that she was embarrassed for me. She said she would come take me home if I did it again. She never had to worry.” And then he gave her credit for his success.

You have to have some fun.

On July 15, 1973, the California Angels' Nolan Ryan pitched his second career no-hitter (and his second of the season), a 6-0 shutout versus the Tigers in Detroit, with a major league record 17 strikeouts in a no-hitter.

The “Ryan Express” was so on that day that Norm Cash came to the plate with two outs in the ninth inning and resorted to using a piano leg to get a hit. Home plate umpire Ron Luciano, nearly falling down laughing at this ruse, made him use a real bat.

Cash flied out to left-field, ending the game.

Communication is crucial.

When Joe Pepitone first came to the Cubs, he told manager Leo Durocher that he was fast enough to steal a base. So, the first time Pepitone reached first base, Durocher decided to test him. First base coach Peanuts Lowrey flashed the sign to Pepitone -- a wink. Pepitone didn't budge. So Lowry winked again. Still, Pepitone stood pat. Again, Lowrey winked. This time, Pepitone responded. He blew Lowrey a kiss.

Legendary manager Casey Stengel had a unique usage of the English language that became known as “Stengelese.” He once said, “I’ve always heard that it couldn’t be done, but sometimes it don’t always work.” And he’s actually right.

Stengel once sat on the board of directors of a California bank. According to The Wall Street Journal, Casey described his responsibilities this way: “There ain’t nothing to it. You go into the fancy meeting room and you just sit there and never open your yap. As long as you don’t say nuthin’, they don’t know whether you’re smart or dumb.”

My version of this: You don’t have to take back words you don’t say.

Mackay’s Moral: Baseball can teach you lessons to survive the extra innings in business and life.

In every speech that I give, every column I write, every person or group that I mentor, my goal is to leave my audience with plenty of take-home value.

I could teach from a textbook and give lots of facts and case studies, but I don’t. I use stories because people can easily relate to the points I make. Here’s some food for thought.

Know who has your back. We can learn much from observing geese in flight. First, people who share a common direction and a sense of community get where they are going more quickly and easily because they rely on the strength of each other.

Second, stay in formation and accept help when it is needed, and offer help when others need it.

Third, geese instinctively share the task of leadership and do not resent the leader.

Fourth, when a goose is sick, wounded or shot down, two others drop out of formation to follow it down to Earth to protect it. They remain with the wounded bird until it is well or dies.

Teamwork. Many years ago in Austria, they had a custom that helped villagers size up the future happiness of a newly married couple. After the wedding at the local church, the village women would escort the bride and groom to a nearby forest and stand them before a large tree. They would then hand the young couple a two-handled bucksaw and ask that they use it to fell the tree.

The closer the cooperation between the man and wife, the shorter the time it took for the tree to come down. And the older villagers wisely reasoned that, the shorter the time, the happier the young couple would be -- because they had learned that most valuable of marital lessons -- teamwork!

Never assume your boss knows everything. A young executive was leaving the office late one evening when he found the CEO standing in front of a shredder with a piece of paper in his hand.

“Listen,” said the CEO, “this is a very sensitive and important document here, and my assistant has gone for the night. Can you make this thing work?”

“Certainly,” said the young executive. He turned the machine on, inserted the paper, and pressed the start button.

“Excellent, excellent!” said the CEO as his paper disappeared inside the machine. “I just need one copy.”

Know when to keep your mouth shut. A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground, landing in a large field. While it was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, it began to realize how warm it was.

The bird was actually thawing out and began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird, promptly dug it out and ate it.

Lessons: 1. Not everyone who dumps on you is your enemy. 2. Not everyone who gets you out of a mess is your friend. 3. And when you're in deep doo-doo, it's best to keep your mouth shut!

Be sure there is a problem in the first place before working hard to solve one. One beautiful day, a bus driver started his route. There were no problems for the first few stops -- a few people got on, a few got off.

At the next stop, however, a big hulk of a guy boarded. Extremely tall and built like a linebacker, he said, “Big John doesn't pay!” and sat down at the back.

The driver didn't argue. The next day, the same thing happened -- Big John got on again, refused to pay, and sat down. The same thing happened day after day.

This grated on the bus driver, who became increasingly angry over the way Big John was taking advantage of him. He signed up for bodybuilding and self-defense courses, and became quite strong. So, on the next Monday, when Big John once again got on the bus and said, “Big John doesn't pay!”

The driver stood up, challenging him, “And why not?”

Surprised, Big John replied, “Big John buys a bus pass.”

Mackay’s Moral: You can learn from experience -- yours or someone else’s.

Whatever business you are in -- manufacturing, retail, health care, travel, high tech -- you must realize that first and foremost, you are in the service business.

We all know how we like to be treated when we conduct a transaction. We also know how we do not like to be treated. There is no excuse not to render exceptional customer service.

But it has always amazed me that some organizations expect their customers to put up with disappointing service. It’s so much easier in the long run to expend a little more effort in putting your best foot forward.

So, based on personal experience and extensive research, I offer my ABCs for customer service.

A is for anticipate. Know what your customers need, what problems may arise, and how you can best serve them. Don’t just meet their needs; amaze them with your attention.

B is for business. Customer service is your business, no matter what you make or what service you provide. Keep repeating that mantra.

C is for commitments. You vouch for planned delivery dates, not random drop-off times. Businesses live on commitments, which lead to steady repeat sales.

D is for details. No detail is too small to a customer who has come to expect perfection from you. Little things make a big difference.

E is for empowerment. Every single person on your payroll must be empowered to make decisions on the spot that accommodate the customer first.

F is for fix the problem. When, despite your best efforts, something goes wrong, find out the reason and correct it immediately.

G is for give customers what they want. Many don’t really want their money back. They just want products or services that work the way they’re supposed to.

H is for hiring the right people to create and maintain a service culture. Recognize the skills and attitude you want, and make sure your staff supports that vision.

I is for the internet. Customer service has taken on a whole new meaning with the rise of social media and websites like Angie’s List and Yelp. Google your company and see what you find. Refer to letter F if you don’t like what you see.

J is for journey. Great service is not a onetime event. It’s an ongoing trek over weeks or years that comes with plenty of twists and turns to navigate.

K is for keep your word. Honesty and trust go hand in hand. Your word is your reputation, and your reputation is your future.

L is for long-term customer loyalty. It is not a hit-and-miss thing. You court it. You earn it. You cultivate it. You retain it.

M is for management, which needs to give employees the authority to help people before there is a problem, or be prepared to step in and handle the matter themselves.

N is for no customer service equals no customers.

O is for the other guys. What are they doing that you should be doing better?

P is for performance. If there was an award for best performance in a customer-service setting, you should be a shoo-in. Be aware of every opportunity to outperform your competition.

Q is for quick-witted. Be prepared to make adjustments to satisfy your customers.

R is for rebound, which is what you need to do to regain a customer’s business.

S is for service with a smile.

T is for take care of your customers or someone else will.

U is for under-promise and overdeliver. There has never been a sounder approach to customer service and sales.

V is for value. Customers need to value your product, your service and your relationship. Give them every reason to value you.

W is for wow, as in constantly finding ways to wow your customers. Make every encounter as special as you can because your customers will remember how you made them feel.

X is for express lane. There is no traffic jam in going the extra mile, and great customer service is your path to success.

Y is for years. Your goal is to have a customer for life.

Z is for zealous. If you want to set up and run a business with longevity in the form of long-term and repeating customers, you have to service those clients with zealous enthusiasm.

Mackay’s Moral: Customer service is not just another department; it’s everyone’s job.